Board of Directors

Wendy Ford

Wendy grew up in Iowa City, in the Northside neighborhood, just a few blocks from the Englert. She has a B.A. in Art and an M.B.A. from the University of Iowa. She was a graphic designer for several years after college, and made a career change in 1989. As Executive Director of the Iowa City/Coralville Convention and Visitors Bureau for the next 11 years, she promoted the Iowa City area to visitors. In 2001, she was hired by the University of Iowa and worked two years in the School of Management and a year as Interim Director of the University of Iowa Career Center. In 2006 she started at the City of Iowa City as Economic Development Coordinator where she serves as the community’s liaison for business. She maintains a strong interest in art and spends her spare time making glass beads and jewelry. She and her husband Steve have four grown children.

Kurt Griebel

Jeff Hughes

Jeff’s sixteen years of business experience include eight years based in Iowa City and eight, of the most recent years, based in Europe. He has managed projects and corporate customer’s accounts in the Telecommunications, Information Technology, and Health Care industries. Jeff is a business school graduate of the University of Iowa and currently works at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He lives in Iowa City with his family and takes an active interest in the Hughes Century Farm which is located seven miles southwest of Iowa City.

Anna Moyers Stone

Leslie Nolte

Leslie Nolte is the founder and artistic director of The Nolte Academy of Dance in Coralville. Leslie earned her dance and theatre degree from the University of Iowa, and has been dancing and teaching professionally for 14 years. Leslie founded the Nolte Academy of Dance in 2000 to bring her love of children and dance together in a fun and enriching environment unlike any other in Eastern Iowa. Since that time, her studio has developed a reputation for innovative dance instruction that continues to produce sought after talent. Leslie is the proud mother of five children, and an active supporter of the local art community, contributing her choreography skills to recent productions of Hairspray, Beauty and The Beast, Seussical the Musical, Grease and High School Musical.

Brenda Pearson

Jennifer Richman

Alan Swanson

Secretary

Now well into a second career, this time in real estate, Alan Swanson is the former senior vice president of the University of Iowa Foundation. He has two degrees from the UI and is also an alumnus of the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce Community Leadership Program. Alan has been active in many nonprofit organizations over the years. Currently in addition to serving on the Englert Theatre board, he works with United Way and is on the UI Museum of Art’s Members Council and the Iowa Able Foundation’s board in Des Moines. He often uses keyboard (and sometimes culinary) artistry to help meet goals for community nonprofits. He also is currently the cartoonist for the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors.